It’s that time when English dictionary companies name their Words of the Year, terms that encapsulate the previous year for them. Based on the choices, it appears that 2016 was not the best of times. Oxford Dictionaries named the term “post-truth,” an adjective defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are […]
Why English Does Not Communicate
This is my favorite essay on the eccentricities of the English language. The author is Richard Lederer, who wrote Anguished English, Crazy English, Get Thee to a Punnery and other delightful books about language. Enjoy. Let’s face it. English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger, neither apple […]
The Writer’s Process
It is said we all have a book inside of us. Yet many people struggle with getting words onto paper (or onto the computer screen). The new book, The Writer’s Process, provides some insights into this situation. The book discusses what hinders our writing (hint: it’s called human nature) and what we can do about […]
The (Lost) Art of Proofreading
I am continually amazed at the number of typos and other written errors I find. How could such mistakes happen? It’s easy because we read: The outside shapes of words, not the individual letters Words in phrases, not just individual words Words in context, not isolated from the sentence’s meaning. Specifically, aoccdrnig to rscheearch at […]
One Word? Two Words?
I often see a single word being used when it should be two words. Here are some examples. Logon and log on “Logon” is a noun, describing the procedure used to get access to an operating system. “Logon” can also be used as an adjective, as in the “logon procedure.” “Log on” is a verb. […]
Ad Bloopers
The following ad bloopers are from Richard Lederer’s treasury of bloopers, “Anguished English: an Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon our Language” (ISBN: 044020352X). Four-poster bed, 101 years old. Perfect for antique lover. We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand. Stock up and save. Limit: one. Man wanted to […]
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